If Tel Aviv refuses to apologize, Erdogan reportedly plans further downgrade in Turkish-Israeli ties

If Tel Aviv fails to apologize by this Wednesday for the deadly Mavi Marmara raid, then Ankara has plans to further downgrade Turkish-Israeli ties, said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday. His comments came amid debate in the Israeli Cabinet over whether or not to formally apologize to Turkey over the incident last year. "We are going to wait for their decision for a period of time," Erdogan told reporters at a joint press conference alongside Jordanian Prime Minister Maroof al-Bakhit. "Then [if no apology comes], we will surely implement our Plan B." Under this Plan B, Turkey's level of diplomatic representation in Tel Aviv would reportedly be further downgraded. After the Mavi Marmara incident, Turkey canceled the appointment of Kerim Uras as ambassador to Israel, and if Israel refuses to apologize, the current charge d'affaires level of representation would be reduced to the level of second secretary. Diplomatic sources said yesterday, however, that since Ankara still hopes to get an Israeli apology, Uras was excluded from the Foreign Ministry's summer reshuffle, signaling that he would still be appointed to Tel Aviv if relations are normalized. Ankara is also mulling a number of other diplomatic and legal measures that would have serious effects on its ties with Israel. However, the government first wants see a forthcoming UN report on the incident before deciding on future steps against Israel, especially ones based on international law.